Asbestos & Mesothelioma Law Blog

Railroad companies used asbestos extensively even though it new that asbestos exposed a serious health threat to railroad workers.  Up to the 1970s, the railroad industry used asbestos contaminated products at the detriment of the railroad workers.  There are even some accounts that some locomotives contained asbestos until the late 1990s.  The railroad industry had a long standing dependence on asbestos through its use to repair and manufacture a variety of train surfaces and parts. As a result, countless unsuspecting railroad workers over the past two centuries have been unknowingly exposed to asbestos.

Railroad Workers & Asbestos Materials

There were many railroad industry products that contained asbestos.  Common uses of asbestos in the railroad industry were asbestos insulation or lagging that was attached to the steam engine, fireboxes and piping systems.  Carriages and boxcars also contained asbestos.  Asbestos was often used on cabooses and boxcars as coverings for walls or wallboards, ceilings and floor tiles.   Brake linings and clutches in the railroad industry were often made from asbestos.  Cloth packing materials and ropes even contained asbestos in the railroad industry.  Gaskets were also composed of asbestos.

The N.J Supreme Court denied ExxonMobil’s appeal of $7 million mesothelioma jury award.  In 2008, Bonnie Anderson argued and the jury agreed that she contracted peritoneal mesothelioma by coming in regular contact with her husband’s asbestos-laden clothes.

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that invades the lining of the stomach and abdomen.  Second most after pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for less than 20% of all mesothelioma cases.  As with other mesothelioma types, peritoneal mesothelioma has a long latency period of 20 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure.

Bonnie Anderson was diagnosed with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in 2001.  Anderson’s exposure to asbestos came from washing her husband’s clothes.  Her husband worked the first six years at the Exxon refinery removing insulation to fix pumps and filters and he regularly came home with his clothes covered in insulation dust – a dust she always shook out before tossing his clothes in the washing machine.

Amgen, a biotechnology company that develops human therapeutics, announced that their investigational drug motesanib did not improve the overall survival among patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).  The drug would have offered new treatment options for hard to treat cancers such as NSCLC and possibly pleural malignant mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that invades the lining of the lungs.  Approximately 3000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma per year and symptoms of mesothelioma generally occur approximately 20 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure.  Chemotherapy treatment for mesothelioma typically involves the combination of two chemotherapy drugs, namely gemcitabine and cisplatin.  Other chemotherapy drugs used in treating mesothelioma include carboplatin and doxorubicin.

Amgen’s phase III trial evaluated motesanib administered in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in 1090 patients with advanced stage NSCLC.  The chemotherapy drugs paclitaxel and carboplatin are typically used in treating lung cancer patients.  In explaining the results, Roger M Perimutter, M.D., PhD., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen, said “We are disappointed with the results from the trial, but look forward to further analysis of the data which may ultimately help inform future research in this area.”

From World War II to the 1980s, workers in all facets of the steel industries were unknowingly exposed to high levels of asbestos. Instead of enjoying their “golden years,” many of those men and women are now facing the ordeal of mesothelioma or disabling lung disease.

Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that invades the mesothelium – the lining of tissue that surround vital organs.  The most common is pleural mesothelioma or cancer of the lining of the lungs.  Approximately 3000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma per year and symptoms of mesothelioma generally occur approximately 20 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure.

Because of its insulation and fireproofing qualities, asbestos was widely used in steel foundries, mills and metal works:

NYU researchers presented a study at the 102^nd American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting that led to a new test that detects early-stage, asbestos-related pulmonary cancer.  The NYU Langone Medical Center investigated a protein test to detect early stage malignant pleural mesothelioma where the test was 80 percent sensitive to accurately identifying the pulmonary cancer proteins caused by asbestos exposure.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive, asbestos related cancer that invades the lining of tissue that surround the lungs.  Approximately 3000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma per year and symptoms of mesothelioma generally occur approximately 20 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure.  The disease can be fatal with 12 months following the diagnosis because of its aggressive nature and it typically is diagnosed in the advanced stages of the cancer.

The lead researcher, Harvey I. Pass, MD, director of the division of Thoracic Surgery and Thoracic Oncology at NYU, said the goal of the new diagnostic test is to find the asbestos-related cancer early enough to effectively treat.  Dr Pass went on to say that “the only patients that seem to benefit from therapy in mesothelioma are those that are found in Stage 1, and this is only 10 to 15 percent of patients,” reasoning that the “magnitude of the operation necessary to reduce the burden of disease may be less, making the patient better able to cope if the disease recurs and the patient needs more aggressive therapy.”

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) will hold their annual international symposium on pulmonary care scheduled for May 13-18, 2011 in Denver, Colorado.  The ATS conference is titled “Where today’s science meets tomorrow’s care in pulmonary, critical care & sleep medicine” and will feature topics from bioengineering to genetic technologies.  The ATS conference brings researchers in pulmonary care together to develop new treatments for lung diseases such as mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that invades the mesothelium – the lining of tissue that surround vital organs.  The most common is pleural mesothelioma or cancer of the lining of the lungs.  Approximately 3000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma per year and symptoms of mesothelioma generally occur approximately 20 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure.

The ATS Scientific Breakthroughs of the Year session will focus on advances in lung tissue bioengineering.  “Lung tissue bioengineering has become an exciting area in lung research,” according to Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari, PhD, co-chair of the session.  She also added “Rapid advances in tissue engineering have demonstrated the potential of developing functional tissue, which could be used in place of whole-lung transplants.”   Although there continues to be breakthroughs in the areas of bioengineering and genetics, there, nevertheless, needs to be more studies and clinical trials to bring new treatments to mesothelioma patients.

Construction workers are often involved in the renovation and upgrading of buildings or industrial complexes.  As a result, construction workers may be at a high risk of asbestos exposure.  Asbestos is a mineral fiber linked to mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.  Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that attacks the lining of the organs caused asbestos exposure.

There were a number of products manufactured and used in the construction industry that contained asbestos and exposed construction workers to the hazardous mineral.  Examples of the construction products that contained asbestos were:

• Shingles,

Mesothelioma trial results in a $90 million jury award to a former pipefitter.  A jury in Bloomington, Illinois awarded $90million to 59 year-old Charles Gillenwater who is suffering from mesothelioma.  Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that attacks the protective lining of the heart, lungs and abdomen that is caused by asbestos exposure.  The pipe fitter was exposed to asbestos during the 1970s while working at a several job sites including Bridgestone-Firestone, The Eureka Company and Illinois State University.

Mesothelioma cancer invades the mesothelium – the lining of tissue that surround vital organs.  The most common is pleural mesothelioma or cancer of the lining of the lungs.  Mesothelioma also attacks the lining of either the heart, abdomen, or testicles.  Symptoms of mesothelioma generally occur approximately 20 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure and include shortness of breath, chest pain and a persistent cough.  In most instances, mesothelioma is diagnosed in the advanced stages leaving the victim with 8 months to 18 months to live.  Mesothelioma is treated with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation in an effort to extend the patient’s life.

The trial lasted for five weeks and the jury deliberated for two days before awarding compensatory damages of $9.6 million against Honeywell International, Inc., Owens-Illinois, Inc., John Crane, Inc. and Pneumo Abex.  The jury also awarded $20 million in punitive damages against Honeywell International, Inc. and Pneumo Abex and $40 million in punitive damages against Owens-Illinois.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) will hold its 7^th Annual Asbestos Awareness Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on April 1-3.  ADAO will honor Billy Ray Cyrus at this conference.  Billy Ray Cyrus will receive an award on behalf of his late father Ron Cyrus who passed in 2006 from mesothelioma.  The artist has been quoted “Hearing the name Ron Cyrus still gives me chills.  He was everything to me, but most of all he was my best friend – and mesothelioma robbed me of that relationship.”  The country star will pay tribute to his father on April 2 in Atlanta, Georgia on receiving the ADAO “Warren Zevon Keep Me in Your Heart” honor.

In addition to honoring Billy Ray Cyrus, the annual ADAO conference titled Asbestos:  Impact on Public Health, Environment, and the Economy will have presentations on asbestos exposure issues, asbestos detection and treatment, environmental and economic impact, national and global policy.  Asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis and other asbestos-related diseases.

Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer linked to asbestos exposure.  Mesothelioma cancer invades the mesothelium – the lining of tissue that surround vital organs.  The most common is pleural mesothelioma or cancer of the lining of the lungs.  Mesothelioma also attacks the lining of either the heart, abdomen, or testicles.  Symptoms of mesothelioma generally occur approximately 20 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure and include shortness of breath, chest pain and a persistent cough.  In most instances, mesothelioma is diagnosed in the advanced stages leaving the victim with 8 months to 18 months to live.  Mesothelioma is treated with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation in an effort to extend the patient’s life.

Homeowners especially those who complete do-it-yourself projects may be at an increased risk of asbestos exposure in tackling their own remodeling jobs in older homes. In doing so, homeowners may encounter old or “friable” asbestos in their homes.  Examples of asbestos products in older homes may include:

• Insulation in attics
• Insulation wrapped around wires or pipes